Reruns
by love in science
Summary: Beck is addicted to television. And Jade West. Entry for Bade Prompts's Save the Date.


**Author's Note: **Hi :] Okay, a couple of thank yous first. One to Cassandra's Destiny, who invited me to join the bade prompts. So. If you're looking for someone to blame? :] All right. And the other goes to mah lovely sistah who, upon solicitation of advice, told me 'why not just right a _bunch_ of sappy moments instead of just one?' So I did and combined it with my love for old shows :] So I hope you enjoy it!

Unfortunately, it seems that someone also came up with the same remarkable idea and so I do apologize for any similarities that my story holds to that of shatteredsand's story 'Not a Single Word'—which, coincidentally, is a bloody good read. Who, in turn, informed that the aforementioned story apparently resembles another fic entry for Save the Date, which is 'Beck, Interrupted' by lauren424. So apologies where apologies are due. However, it's far too late to write another story so this will have to make do. But yes, so much for being creative ;)

Also, the POV is a mess in places. And I'm not quite sure of the voice of this fic. Sorry about that.

Prompt: Full House

...

_This whole world's wild at heart and weird on top._

- Lula from David Lynch's _Wild at Heart_

.

**Reruns**

...

Beck Oliver and Jade West.

The world never could resist a good love story. A young, beautiful couple, high school sweethearts, now two up-and-coming actors with a handful of decent films and television shows between them. It amazes people that they've been together for a little over ten years now and haven't had their relationship smeared by malicious gossip or the glare of the Hollywood lights. Perhaps because they're mostly a private couple who prefer to spend time with friends or going on vacations instead of in clubs, partying and boozing. During interviews they skim and skate and smile secret smiles and completely and quite effortlessly avoid questions pertaining to their relationship. The only real life glimpses they get are on the red carpet at premieres or on awards shows where they both glow and shine with promise and passion. So really, everyone thinks that Beck and Jade are pretty much the perfect couple.

_When are they getting married?_ they muse when they see pictures of the striking couple.

But that's only because they don't really know Beck and Jade.

.

It isn't for lack of trying, that's for sure.

.

The first time he proposes is the day they move into their new apartment when they're twenty. It's cramped, there are boxes everywhere and already they're hearing the _clink_ and _clang_ of bathroom pipes. She's part-timing as a receptionist at her daddy's firm and though it annoys her that she's accepting his help, it's far better than waiting tables—which, incidentally, is exactly what Beck is doing. It's feeling every bit the bad decision that it probably is, but they don't care.

Today, he tells her as they stand in the middle of their disaster area of a living room, our lives are about to change forever. Then, quite purposely, gets down on his knee and pulls out a ring. It's simple and the stone is almost nonexistent. There's just the tiniest hint of sparkle to assure you that it's there. And _then_, he says the words.

'Will you marry me?'

And Jade sends him packing an hour later.

The day after, he shows up bags in tow along with a pint of ice cream, telling her that a rerun of Friends is on and they might miss it if they don't hury it up. He's smiling all the while and something tells her that maybe he expected her to say no. So she pouts, crosses her arms and focuses on him her sternest glare.

'Don't you _ever_ do that again,' she warns him before she lets him in. 'All right?'

He gives her a peck on the cheek as he passes. 'Yes, ma'am.'

'And you know I hate Friends.'

'You love Friends,' he reminds her. He's already in the kitchen, fishing out a couple of spoons from a drawer that only opens halfway. 'You love Monica and Chandler.'

'I just don't understand how he can stand being with someone who's so high maintenance and neurotic.'

He grins as he settles down on the sofa next to her, amused that the television is already on the appropriate channel and Joey is on the screen cracking some joke about sandwiches. 'I have no idea.'

.

She just got a final call back from one the numerous auditions that she's been going to lately and they decide to celebrate early by buying good meat and staying in. It really isn't anywhere near glamorous but all they need is this—each other and food so that they won't starve to death. At some point, it starts quietly raining outside and before Jade can grab a pair of scissors to defend herself, Beck has his arms around her waist (and all over her, basically, so how exactly is she even supposed to _think_) then pulls her out the door.

He manages to get her calm enough to sway her into a slow dance and even have her wind her arms around his shoulders without strangling his neck. 'Do you understand how much I love you?' he whispers in her ear.

She peers up at him and it would have been the perfect had she not been scowling so darkly. 'What, you think I'm stupid?'

And he's known her long enough, loved for her for just as long that words like these no longer hurt but merely amuse. 'You know what I mean,' he tells her gently, but sees it fit to explain himself anyway, 'I just love you so much, you know? And I wonder sometimes if I get that across. We may be actors but you know how I am...'

'Emotionally stunted.'

'Oh hello, pot, you're looking especially black today.' He grins as he watches her throw her head back in abrupt laughter. 'I forget sometimes that we're not the best at relationships and that I don't always get the point I want to make across.'

There's a look of wonder in her eyes like she's never considered this before, like he's conveying to her some sort of deep dark secret that he never planned on telling. 'You know, I always thought you were a dork.' She shakes her head despite the small smile that dances along her lips. 'But this just seals it.'

'You're the one who fell in love with a dork.'

'Well, then, I suppose everyone was wrong about me.' She says on a mock sigh. 'It seems there _is_ a bit of charity in me.'

He tightens his arms around her, bringing her body fully against his. 'Enough charity, perhaps,' he pauses for a moment, 'To find it to yourself to say yes when I ask you—'

'Beck!' she interrupts sharply.

'To marry me?' he continues anyway and he closes his eyes when he feels her struggle against him, trying his best to keep a firm hold on her.

But it is all for naught because Jade eventually elbows him near the armpit and it leaves him breathless enough that she's able to untangle herself from him and lock him out of their apartment in the pouring rain.

Beck looks down at his bare feet, the same ones that are standing in a dirty puddle and then up again at the locked door. 'Jade?' he calls out, running a hand through his soaking wet hair. It must be around eleven in the evening and he's thankful that the neighbors have yet to complain.

'You know you can't do this every time I propose, right?' he asks through the window where her form is obscured by the flimsy old curtain that was already there when they moved in.

She lets out an exasperated sigh. 'Then maybe you should stop proposing,' she counters, 'Then we wouldn't have this problem.'

'Listen,' he leans his head against the cold glass of the window.

'No, thank you.'

'Please?'

A pause. 'Ugh. Fine.'

He smiles. 'So... There's a rerun of Passions in about thirty minutes—'

The door flings open with Jade standing just inside the door, arms crossed menacingly with her scowl firmly in place. 'You know I effing _hate _it when you watch those stupid Passions reruns!'

'Do you hate me?' He grins at her and twiddles his thumbs in a way that he knows makes him that much more irresistible to her.

The fight seems to slowly drain from her as her arms fall to her sides and she leans against the doorframe. 'No.'

'No,' he nods, 'So you gonna let me in?'

'Fine. But I see Passions on the television and I set you on fire.'

.

They're living in a different neighborhood now. A couple of steps up from the last one and now with a hint of the saltiness of the ocean. Beck's done a couple of indie films but it's the recent one that's getting a bit of buzz. They're showing at Sundance and he's thrilled, really, but dismayed that he isn't being able to share the moment with Jade who's been cast in a minor role on crime show that airs on cable. Producers have been mentioning the possibility of making the character a recurring one—provided Jade does a well enough job to entice viewers to want more. So begging off from a scheduled shoot is absolutely out of the question.

'I wish I could be there with you,' she whispers into her phone during her break. They're shooting on location and she's standing behind the makeup trailer, in the dark, trying her best to keep out of everyone's way. She's on the lower-tier here and she's smart enough to know that she doesn't need to step on anyone's toes if she wants to stick around.

She hears Beck sigh on the other end of the line and she hates that this has happened. But it's best to get used to it now because this is what happens when you're in the business and _both_ of them are in the business. It's doubly hard but...

'I miss you,' he says just quietly even though she knows he has no reason to be. 'Aaron's showboating and it's grating on everyone's nerves. I wish you were here to see because I know you'd have some _very_ choice words to impart on him.' Beck's co-star is a douchebag who seems to be under the impression that he is God's gift to cinema.

'Remind me to be extra snarky when I see him again,' she proclaims loyally.

He chuckles. 'Extra snarky? Isn't that like one of the signs of the apocalypse?'

'No, that would be me being _nice_, remember?' She grins into her phone and instantly hates the distance between them. 'What are you doing right now? You done with dinner?'

'Yeah, just got back to the hotel room when you called.' There's a squeak of bed springs. 'This is weird, not having you here. Like the bed feels _huge_. This bed's a freaking ocean of matress right now. How the hell and am I supposed to fall asleep?'

'Try masturbating.'

'Har har,' he says sarcastically but she can hear the laughter in his tone. 'Seriously, though. What do I do now that you aren't here?'

Jade bites on her lower lip and tries not get emotional over such a stupidly simple question. It doesn't help at all that she's been thinking the same thing since he left this morning. 'Switch on the tv.'

'Oh, cool,' he says after a moment, 'They've got The Wonder Years showing.'

'Which episode?'

'The one where Winnie gets into the car accident?'

'Great,' Jade groans, 'The stupid Winnie and creeper stalker Kevin episode.'

'He wasn't a creepy stalker!' Beck is always unusually defensive about things pertaining to The Wonder Years. 'He just wanted to make sure she was okay!'

'By being a creepy stalker!'

'It's romantic!'

'Uh, _no_. It's obsessive.' Somehow, now that they're arguing all this distance feels a little less heavy. 'He climbs up to her window and _stares_ at her.'

His laughter rings out from her phone and she can almost imagine him with his face full of mirth and the straight line of his neck, interrupted only by the bobbing of his adam's apple. 'I seem to recall a certain stalker who followed me and Tori on our opposite date.'

She feels the sudden rush of warmth on her cheeks. 'That was a purely coincidental meeting—'

'It's all right,' he interrupts, sounding quite smug, 'It's a good thing I love you despite you being such a creepy stalker.'

She scoffs a little too loudly, just to make sure she gets her point across and thankful for the fact that her grin doesn't carry through a phone line. 'Whatever. Is it over yet?'

'What? The episode? Not yet. I'd guess it's about halfway there, though.' He pauses for a moment. 'I think I've watched every single episode of this show.'

'I know. I've watched you watch every single episode of that show. Even that worthless series finale...' Jade catches one of the actors of the main cast staring at her. Or her breasts rather as he has the rather annoying habit of doing. She stamps down the urge to roll her eyes and turns her back on him instead. 'We get all of this build up for a big Winnie Cooper-Kevin Arnold ending,' she rants on Beck, who's infinitely more important than some actor whose eyes are unable to get past her neck. 'And then we get the whole crappy _just_ _friends_ ending?'

'Someday the world will know your terrible secret Jade West,' he says knowingly, 'You're a sucker for happily ever afters just like the rest of us peasants.'

'I hate you,' she huffs.

'So _that's_ why you won't marry me.'

'_Beck_,' she grounds out. 'I thought we agreed—'

'Yeah, about that? Whatever it is you _think_ we agreed on? I don't care,' he tells her quite emphatically, 'So fair warning: I'm not going to stop trying.'

She's always been averse to situations where she feels like she has to explain herself. Especially to Beck. Because shouldn't he know by now? Shouldn't he know her enough to just stop trying? 'But... aren't you scared?'

'Of?'

'Forever.' She takes a deep breath. 'With me.'

'You give yourself too much credit, babe. You're not _that_ scary.'

'Why am I in love with such a dork?' She chuckles a little. She can't help it. He's the only one who can make her really laugh. Even in the middle of this gawdawful conversation, he's still able to make her smile. It 'Just don't...' She takes another deep breath and wipes at the corner of her eye. 'Just not now, okay?'

'All right. But someday.'

'Someday,' she agrees.

.

_I don't wanna wait! For our lives to be over!_

So this song? It's been torturing her since they left the house for the airport. They're already a little behind schedule what with Beck's flight leaving half an hour than they initially thought it was and Jade needing to be at a photoshoot in one and a half. But Jade is determined to drive Beck to the airport as these are pretty much the last moments she and Beck have to spend together before he has to leave for New York.

However, now that he's spent precisely seventeen minutes singing that grating song, she's seriously beginning to rethink her decision. It doesn't help that the only part he actually knows is the chorus, seeing as how that's only the worst part.

'I don't wanna wait!' Beck howls out of the open window as they go down the freeway and Jade is instantly thankful that her boyfriend is prudent enough to now that she is at her wit's end.

'I told you to stop watching those Dawson's Creek reruns!'

Beck does this exagerrated head shake as if he were in some demented shampoo commercial. He totally thinks it's cute. It isn't. 'I love you, babe,' he tells her, though his eyes are trained on the road, 'But there is nothing, and I mean _nothing_, that can come between me and my love for The Creek.'

'I don't think anyone calls it The Creek, Beck,' she says in her most condescending tone. 'I seriously don't understand how you can like such a pretentious show.'

'Pretentious?'

'Oh, please. That little small town love web that they weave? And there are what? Four of them? How much drama can four people create? And don't get me started on the dialogue,' Jade huffs, crossing her arms, 'That _thing_ that everyone says is such witty banter was more like the illegitimate love child between an overly enthusiastic freshman film student who swallowed a thesaurus and my mother when she's sober and wants to impart knowledge on the world.'

'That's so weird.' The awe in his voice makes her turn to face him. 'You say you hate the show but you sound just like them.'

Her jaw pretty much drops to the floor and she's pretty sure that there's no way she'll ever get it back since they're going about 65mph and there's no way you can go in reverse on the freeway. Well, you could. But knowing Beck, there's just no way he'd agree to that. Party pooper. Although, she does recognize the very real possibility of death. Which isn't looking so bad since her boyfriend, the love of her effing life has just issued the worst _worst_ insult known to man.

'You did not just say that!'

'Oh, yes I did.'

'Well! Take it back!'

'No.'

'C'mon!'

'Nuh-uh.'

She pouts and resists the urge to throw a punch. Yes, violence is not welcome in moving cars. Beck taught her that. So she resorts to the next best thing. 'I'm going to flash all these cars passing by,' she threatens Beck and even begins to tug at the hem of her top, '_Every single one_. Imagine the cars that have children in them, Beck. Those innocent children and those innocent eyes...'

'Go ahead,' he says and even shrugs.

_Eurgh._ She's _losing_. 'You're impossible!'

He laughs then reaches out for her hand. She has half a mind not to given so quickly but he's leaving and she'll probably miss him or whatever. So she slides her hand into his and her heart kind of aches at the thought that they have to say goodbye again soon.

'Maybe I'll take it back,' he relents after a few moments of silence, 'But on one condition.'

She makes a face. 'I'm not doing _that_. Remember the last time we tried it while you were driving? We almost got into an accident because you—'

The car swerves a little, resulting in some honking from the car behind them. 'What the hell, Jade? That's not what I was talking about! I was going to ask you to marry me!'

And it hangs between them, that declaration. The opposite of mistletoe and more like a horrible omen.

'You don't get it do you?' she says slowly, softly because she's afraid that if she goes too fast or too loudly that something will tear in some irreparable way. 'What if... What if we're Joey and Dawson. What if we keep telling ourselves that we're meant to be together only to find out later that there's a Pacey out there just waiting to love you the way you want to be loved?'

'Wait. Am I supposed to be Joey?'

Jade groans. 'Yes! And I'm Dawson!'

'All right,' his brow furrows in thought, 'Who's Pacey then?'

She throws her hands up in exasperation. Honestly, Beck sucked at analogies sometimes. 'I don't know? Some blonde bimbo with huge breasts? Or maybe some mousy little brunette with huge innocent eyes and a penchant for do-it-yourself crafts? You think if I knew she'd even be breathing right now?' she rants and by the time she's done, her arms are crossed over her chest as she tries to calm her breathing.

'Okay... But if I have to be Joey then you're going to have to be Pacey.'

'I'm Pacey?'

He grins. 'Yeah, and Dawson is whoever you think I should be with and who I definitely don't want. Dawson doesn't matter.'

And sometimes, Beck's pretty good with analogies.

'All right?' he says and he tucks a strand of her hair behind her ear.

'All right.'

'Oh, you know what was on tv earlier when you were in the bathroom? Reruns of Trina's reality show.'

'Reruns? Didn't that thing only have like five episodes?'

'Yeah, I guess Americans are getting smarter about their tv choices.'

.

He gets the phone call around two in the morning.

There was an accident on set, they tell him. Something to do with some faulty wiring on one of the explosive devices, they say.

After the name of the hospital is revealed, the call ends abruptly and for the first few moments after, Beck has no idea what to do with himself. It's the most devastating news he's ever heard and it's coming from a stranger. And it's about the one most important person to him in the _world_.

He looks down at his bare feet and remembered back when they were relatively unknown and dreamed of the day when they'd get _here_. Famous and movie offers knocking on their door. But it also brings _this_. And he would trade _here_ if it meant a forever with Jade instead of one without.

When he gets to the hospital, Pam, Jade's agent for two years now, is already there and pacing a hole into the white linoleum floor.

She's in surgery, she says. Got pretty banged up, she tells him. But she'll be okay, she assures him.

He nods stiffly and sits down on one of the uncomfortably hard chairs that line the corridor. There are about a million things rushing through his head, how he should probably call her parents, call his parents, call their friends... But there's one overruling thought.

_Don't you fucking leave me, Jade. Don't you dare._

And it's four hours of this before they hear anything. Four long hours before the doctor walks out into the hall to talk to them.

Internal bleeding, she says. Broken bones, she tells them. But she's stable now, she assures them.

She'll be okay.

And suddenly, he can breathe again. Deep breaths. He takes several of them before he feels any sort of relief and nods automatically when the doctor tells them that they can see her. His feet are heavy as he walks and that's the only time he realizes that he's still barefoot.

.

The first thing that registers is that her body is gone and has been replaced with this enormous feeling of incredible pain. It effing _hurts_. Right down to her throat that feels like a million cats clawed at it. She tries to open her eyes and it takes some effort, she realizes, as she's not only in pain but she's very _very_ tired.

The right one opens first and the light is blinding in a very annoying way. She closes it quickly and tries again but with both eyes this time. Everything is blurry at first, muted colors smudged into each other like pools of watered down paint. She blinks again and finally the picture becomes clearer until it condenses down into Beck staring down at her, his expression of a combination of joy, exhaustion, and worry.

'Hey there, pretty lady.'

If she had enough strength, she would have totally rolled her eyes. She settles for a slight smile. 'What—' Ugh. This throat thing is just not letting up. 'What happened,' she croaks out and effort leaves even more tired.

'There was an accident while you were filming with one of the explosive devices.'

That, she remembers. The feeling of being catapulted and thrown into a glass door was _very_ memorable.

'You broke a couple of ribs and sprained your wrist. There's some other medical stuff that I don't completely understand but they assure me that you're going to be perfectly fine. Just gonna have to keep off your feet for a while is all.' He's holding onto her hand as he says these things. His grip is a little too tight but she doesn't have it in her to tell him to stop. She understands. He needs this.

'The studio sent you a million flowers. Pam forwarded them to Cat's home in an inspired moment,' he continues, now half-sitting on the hospital bed, his hip against hers. 'Speaking of Cat, she's somewhere around here. I think she might be saying hello to some of the hospital staff. Apparently they know her brother or something?'

If only she had the strength to, she'd raise an eyebrow. Beck doesn't do talkative, but here he is. Babbling. It's quite unattractive, but endearing oddly enough.

'I called your parents and your mom is in Mexico? Your dad is in Seattle for business but he said he'll be by as soon as possible. Mom and Dad are in the cafeteria and Jade, you should've seen my dad. He harrassed everyone here when those flowers came in telling everyone who would listen that they would only make you feel worse instead of better. And and and...'

He takes a deep breath. Finally. She was starting to get a little worried.

'I have half a mind to lock you up now, you know?' His head is bowed, his eyes on his lap. 'Just lock you in a room with me and throw the key away forever. Because... I don't think I can do this again. I think about the future all the time, Jade, and when I do, it isn't about the films I can make or awards I can win or anything to do with my career. They're all thoughts about us, about growing old with you and the family we're going to have and just...'

When he looks at her, the first thing she sees are all the unshed tears in his eyes. The response is immediate and almost like a knee-jerk reaction the way her own tears prick her eyes. Because if there's anyone who understands Beck, it's Jade.

'I love you so much.'

She nods, or at least tries to do the action as much her body will allow it. 'I love you,' she whispers hoarsely.

"Jade,' he shakes his head slowly before reaching into his jacket pocket. Then he pulls out the ring. That silly little ring that he had the first time he proposed. She can't help but chuckle and she's rewarded with a sting in her chest. It's perfect, really. Because who they were seven years ago when he first proposed is who they are now.

'You got this, dude,' Michelle Tanner tells them from her perch within the television. And it's a good thing that Jade is incapacitated right now because there's no way she's being proposed to while there's a Full House rerun in the background.

'Will you marry me?'

Doesn't mean she's not going to say yes, though. Which she does.

Because Jade West is exactly like all the peasants.

And she's lucky enough to get her happily ever after.

...


End file.
